Life is Strange: True Colors, the third installment of the famous saga, is ready to debut on console e PC the September 10, 2021: we have had the opportunity to embark on this incredible adventure ahead of schedule and we are ready to tell you what we think with this review.
Life is Strange: True Colors review – a bolt from the blue
The Life is Strange saga has always managed to differentiate from other games. His desire to tell a story and allow the public to be the protagonist, has made it a unique title of its kind. Since the release of the first chapter we have known many personages, we have had experiences with them that are nothing short of surprising and educational e we got carried away.
However the idea of having new characters, to live one new story it’s a new atmosphere, a little scared us. The one told in the first chapter of Life is Strange, with Max and Chloe, was a story that left its mark. We knew that nothing would surpass it; fear was therefore legitimate.
Since then, the video game universe has offered us three products. Deck Nine has decided to give us as a gift Before the Storm, starring our beloved and rebellious Chloe and Rachel, in flesh and blood. Dontnod, on the other hand, with some Easter Eggs that excited fans, instead continued the narration with The Fantastic Adventures of Captain Spirit e Life is Strange 2, with Sean and Dan, the two wolf brothers.
Although we were faced with new stories and, especially, new characters, these adventures they excited us and they managed to make room in our hearts.
True Colors comes a bit like a bolt from the blue. Did we expect it? Absolutely not. Did we scream for joy? Absolutely yes. This time Dontnod passed the baton to Deck Nine, offering her in a sense the possibility of continue the story.
Our new protagonist is Alex Chen, a young girl who has lived the last few years in one family-home. We do not know in detail his childhood and his past but we know, and we understand, that they were rather painful.
Alex was split by Gabe, her older brother, who has instead spent the last few years looking for her. After finally completing his mission, he asks Alex if he wants to move in with him ad Haven Springs, a small town hidden among majestic mountains.
Alex accepts, hoping to being able to leave the past behind. We don’t know why the Chen brothers were split up in the past and frankly, at the moment, we don’t care. What interests us is something else.
You see, Alex is there typical heroine from the Life is Strange series: she too, like Max and Dan, possesses a particular power.
The power of empathy: strong but scary
With Max we could go back in time, change events and save people from physical dangers. With Sean, however, we had to deal with our younger brother Dan, who had the power of telekinesis. The little one, however, was unstable due to various events, and often risked harming the people around him and himself. For this reason we had to help him ed address it, to ensure that he could use his power in the best way.
With Alex, on the other hand, Deck Nine has probably introduced one of the most interesting and ingenious powers of the entire saga: the power of empathy. Be empathetic it is not easy, put yourself in the shoes of others it can be complicated and strange. We often don’t want to be in our shoes, let alone other people’s.
Alex’s power is unique and it works this way. When people experience strong emotions like anger, sadness O fear, Alex sees around them a colorful aura e sparkling. Each color represents an emotion: purple is fear, red is anger and blue is sadness.
If the girl approaches the person and concentrates, she comes wrapped in this aura too, which allows her to feel the same emotions as the person next to her. His is a power strong, intense, and often the girl can’t help herself: especially when it comes to anger and rage. However our task, together with Alex, is to embrace our power, no longer see it as a threat but as a way to help people.
For years, in fact, Alex has repressed his power, considering him one “curse”. This supernatural ability to feel, absorb and manipulate the emotions of others, which show themselves to his eyes as a vibrantly colored aura, always terrified her.
However, due to thesudden death of his brother Gabe, the girl must rely on her power to find out the truth. He will be able, thanks also to our help, to appreciate it for the first time and also a improve it. Later, in fact, we will be able to use our power better: with a pinch of more concentration, and courage, we will be able to understand what scares, makes you angry O makes you sad the people next to us.
By concentrating as much as possible we will be able to touch the next level of empathy. Deck Nine has managed to make this look very realistic, allowing the player to be enveloped by these strong emotions. Such emotions capture us violently, almost as if they were our own.
Exploration and Memories, the new collectibles
One of the elements that differentiates this chapter from the previous ones is exploration. Life is Strange: True Colors risulta essere much more interactive ed exploratory. The streets and places of Haven Springs, in fact, hide many prizes, surprises and secrets, from the stories of the citizens that you can follow and influence during the adventure, to areas and objects that allow you to delve into the rich history of the town.
Regarding this, you must know that Alex is also capable of seeing an empathic aura around some relevant objects. For this reason you must pay particular attention to the environment that surrounds you and explore it in every corner.
Once we have identified the sparkling object, we must approach it and concentrate as if it were a person: at that moment memories are unlocked. These memories are the new ones collectibles of the game, a bit like polaroids for Max and objects for Sean.
Memories allow us to know one insight into that person’s life and allow us and Alex to change your opinion about the person. So make sure you interact with each element in the scenario. You can also interact with the object several times: this allows you to unlock new details and also new dialogues.
A detail that we really appreciated is the way Alex approaches people when he sees this elusive shimmering aura. The girl raise your hand and focuses, like Max when he went back in time. It is a small detail which, however, for lovers of the series, offers strong emotions.
What excited us is also the way in which Alex looks like Max keeping, however, his personality. Details like the guitar, the silly and funny jokes and thoughts, his shyness, his passion for art in general, are all elements that made us smile because we could not help but think of Max and therefore to our first experience with Life is Strange.
At the same time, however, Alex has his own personality, strong and decisive. We are sure that Max and Alex would have been great friends. Furthermore the presence of Steph, directly from Before the Storm, offers us those vibrations to Chloe who make us feel at home. It’s a feeling new e familiar at the same time: exactly what we expected from this new chapter.
Life is Strange: True Colors review – diary and mobile phone
Many of you will probably remember the daily of our beloved Max and the sketch book by Sean. Also in this chapter, our protagonist has a diary. Whenever Alex comes across a person or object, it is advisable check your diary.
There will be up there new insights into the characters but also on mystery that we have to solve. Just click on each memory to unlock a new diary page containing the Alex’s reflections about it.
Max told us about his days, the way he felt. Sean, on the other hand, drew and occasionally wrote some personal thoughts. For Alex, as you can imagine, the diary is a space in which to let off steam and reflect. It is also a place where ours is aspiring singer-songwriter writes the lyrics of her songs.
As in the first chapter of Life is Strange, in True Colors the mobile phone and a particular application called MyBlock. Through Alex’s smartphone you can receive e light messages while on this new app you will find secondary stories, interesting Easter Egg (if you are careful) and much more.
Remember to consult MyBlock every now and then, it’s really fun.
Another interesting aspect concerns theAlex’s closet. Get creative and let yourself be carried away by the moment: whenever you want, you can change clothing of our protagonist. Keep your eyes peeled because, even here, there is no shortage of Easter Eggs.
Music and evocative landscapes: we are really at home
It was impossible not to highlight, in an entire paragraph, the soul of Life is Strange.
What made the series recognizable and valuable are, in particular, the soundtrack e i evocative landscapes. The first chapter it contains the essence of these two elements: every single chapter gives us songs incredibly full of pathos, able to offer us the possibility to be part of the game and that blend completely with the landscapes.
In the second chapter, unfortunately, the sound sector as we have known it, got slightly lost. However, the landscapes offered by Dontnod Entertainment, were for two.
Con Life is Strange: True Colors, we literally go back to the origins. Not only because most of the soundtrack was made by the Australian duo Angus & Julia Stone (Santa Monica Beach in Life is Strange) but why the music is once again a cornerstone of the entire game.
Also here it blends perfectly with the suggestive landscapes of the mountains, so crystal clear and magical. Every corner of this game is a marvel for the eyes. From the point of view of the graphics sector, Deck Nine has really offered us a product with all the trimmings.
The differences with the first chapters are very evident. THE landscapes are even more realistic, are characterized by vibrant colors e…